using figutative language

The metaphors that Zanosa uses are somewhat common and can be understood by most readers . Three metaphors in the second paragraph ( soul .shakes me to my very soul ' and .private hell ) are very weak in imagery . It is somewhat difficult to imagine a visual representation of soul shaking ' and private hell ' However , just about all readers of Back from the Brink ' will understand why Zanosa uses the latter two exaggerated metaphors

The soul could also be taken to be synonymous with mind ' It is a philosophical concept typically understood to

be core of the self , and which makes something alive and conscious . Soul ' is a metaphor itself when taken from a purely philosophical point of view , where it can represent the mind or one 's deepest beliefs . However , it may not be intended as a metaphor if the speaker holds a religious conviction in the existence of the soul . The word soul ' is strongly associated with religious beliefs . One common meaning of soul ' is that it is what contains the essence of a person , and that the body is merely a shell that contains the soul

The concept of a shaking soul is also a metaphor . The occurrence of soul shaking ' is also a metaphor , where shaking ' means being distraught . Thus , saying that something shakes me to my very soul can be taken to mean that the issue collides with something that one deeply believes in . By this metaphor , Zanosa means that he finds the idea of heroin 's chicness ' extremely undesirable and wrong

The third metaphor , private hell ' has connotations similar the metaphor of soul shaking . Hell , again , is a religious concept found in many religions , of which one of the most notable is Christianity . In Christian belief , hell is a place of eternal suffering . However hell ' is often used figuratively to describe something that is extremely undesirable - it can be used in many ways , such as : staying at my mother-in-law 's place was hell ' or waiting for the blood test results was hell ' From what we know (from the media , mostly ) of the effects of heroin on people , we can understand that when Zanosa writes of his private hell ' he means that his days of heroin use was an extremely problematic time...